When Worlds Collide

Nine

Tuesday came along much faster than I had anticipated. I had half expected it to drag, as I waited for my fate to be decided, but it flew by in an array of arguments, tears and prayers. Sunday night had been a right affair and my head still hurt from the lack of sleep all the nerves gave me, I could not switch off and when I did, my restless sleep was filled with nightmares of all kinds of gruesome things. That morning, I sat up in bed and rubbed my sleep-filled eyes. They stung, my lips were chapped and dry from crying, and my stomach ached with hunger as I had been too nauseous to eat. I half expected King Callan to take one look at me and decide against taking me back to the City with him. 

William had fought for my hand for hours, but we knew it would be a futile effort. Our Church would not marry us, not for the short notice, but they could not risk retaliation from the King himself. I remembered how the priest had took my hands into his own, closed his eyes and read a proverb from the Bible,

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths." 

I had looked at him in surprise, the old religions were banned and we were supposed to follow and worship the Lycan Goddess. I had not attended a Church service that followed the old religion, yet here he was, reciting ancient scripture from a time when humans did not know of Lycan existence and expecting me to use it. A small part of me, just a little, became excited at that. It was not in my nature, had never been, but I felt a tiny bit rebellious at the thought. 

"He will be here any moment," My mother sighed, pulling me out of my thoughts. She was behind me, tying my long hair into two braids so they would last the perilous journey to Farkas, the Lycan City. 

The sun was just up above the Golden Mountains now, around  eight o clock in the morning, and my family had been up for hours. Nanna Caroline had arrived a couple of hours ago and was nursing a whisky in the kitchen, courtesy of my father's long standing collection. I went and stood beside her. 

"Are you alright Nanna?" I asked. 

"Oh child," She sighed, putting down her half-empty glass to place her arms around my neck for a hug. "I do regret not coming to see you more often." She admitted, after finally releasing me. 

"It is not your fault Nanna, the farm needed you!" 

"Yes, but work should not come before family, and now we're about to lose you I only wish I could have more memories of you growing up." 

"Caroline she's not dying," My father called from the front room and I couldn't help the small grace of a smile on my lips. My Nanna did always have a bit of a flair for the dramatics. 

"Oh trust a man to tell a woman how she feels," Nanna snapped back. "Don't you realise there will be no children left once Phina is taken away?"

"Nanna," I whispered, placing a hand on her shoulder. Bringing up the 'incident' wouldn't do anybody any good, it would just add more grief to the household and I wasn't sure if it would hold or crumble beneath the weight. 

Caroline sighed and picked up her whisky to down the last few sips, just as a loud thumping knock came at the front door. I jumped, startled by the loud noise, as did everybody else in the house. I stood still in the kitchen, my feet rooted to the floor unable to move and so it was my Father's job to open the door. 

"His Majesty requests that the Lady Josephina join him on his journey back to Farkas now Sir," came a gruff voice from the door. It was not King Callan, so curious, I peeked my head around the doorway into the living room to see an armored guard standing tall in front of my father.

"Could he not come himself?" My father replied, I wasn't sure if he was brave or daft. 

"Edward," I heard my mother hiss as she tapped him on the shoulder. Turning around, she caught me peeking out and gave me a stern look that said, 'Get here now'.